Pilfer resistant package

ABSTRACT

A retail package formed from a unitary blank of foldable paperboard having a top closure arrangement which includes a handle and means for readily attaching a proof of purchase document to the package in a way to render it tamper resistant.

United States Patent [191 Desmond et al.

PILFER RESISTANT PACKAGE Inventors: John D. Desmond, Geneva, 11].;

Joseph J. Hart, Philadelphia, Pa.

Assignee: Container Corporation of America,

Chicago, Ill.

Filed: Nov. 8, 1974 Appl. No.: 522,021

US. Cl 229/39 R; 229/41 R; 229/45; 229/52 B; 292/307 Int. Cl. ..B65D5/10; B65D 45/00; B65D 33/26 Field of Search 229/45, 41, 54 R, 37, 52 B,229/74, 29; 292/318, 320, 307; 40/312;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1943 Vineberg 206/288 X Dec. 9,1975 2,656,093 10/1953 Smith 229/54 2,659,526 11/1953 Buttery 229/39 R2,781,161 2/1957 Adams 229/54 R 3,040,951 6/1962 Kuchembecker 229/17 G3,168,963 2/1965 Wolowicz 206/194 X 3,690,523 9/1972 Link 229/54 R X3,692,232 9/1972 Helms 229/52 B FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 487,3306/1938 United Kingdom 229/54 R Primary Examiner-Davis T. MoorheadAttorney, Agent, or FirmCarpenter Ostis 57 ABSTRACT.

A retail package formed from a unitary blank of foldable paperboardhaving a top closure arrangement which includes a handle and means forreadily attaching a proof of purchase document to the package in a wayto render it tamper resistant.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US. atent Dec. 9, 1975 FIG-4 PILFERRESISTANT PACKAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates to retail packages used for the same purpose asshopping bags which are available in retail department stores. Thepresent invention is in the form of a folding carton, as distinguishedfrom a conventional, flexible bag and is designed to be tamperresistant.

2. The Prior Art The prior art is exemplified in the following U.S.patents which were developed in a search:

Vineberg 2,310,499 February 9, 1943 Kuchenbecker 3,040,951 June 26, 1962Wolowicz 3,168,963 February 9, 1965 Farquhar 3,198,378 August 3, 1965Helmes 3,635,452 January 18, 1972 Helmes 3,692,232 September 19, 1972Although these patents show certain features of the present invention,none discloses an enclosed retail package having a top closurearrangement with proof of purchase and tamper resistant features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to a heavy-duty,retail package formed of a one-piece blank of foldable paperboard thathas a pair of overlapping top closure flaps which provide a handle andan access opening for a stapling device to accommodate additionallocking of the carton by attachment of a proof of purchase document.

THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank of foldable paperboard fromwhich the carton illustrated in the other views may be formed;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an erected carton embodying features ofthe invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the top of a carton whichillustrates the first step in the sequence by which the top of a cartonis closed and locked; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmentary, front elevations which illustrateadditional steps in the sequence of closing and locking of the top of acarton.

It will be understood that, for purposes of clarity, certain elementsmay have been intentionally omitted from certain views where they arebelieved to be illustrated to better advantage in other views.

Returning now to the drawing for a better under standing of theinvention, and particularly to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the cartonindicated generally at C is of a generally tubular construction with atop closure arrangement, hereinafter described in greater detail, whichpermits the top of the carton to be locked and which also permits theinsertion of an end of a stapler used to fasten a proof of purchasedocument, such as a sales slip S, to the top of a carton with staple T.

The carton may be formed from a unitary blank of foldable paperboard asillustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawing. The main portion or body of thecarton includes opposed pairs of front and rear side walls and 12,respectively, opposed first and second end walls, 14 and 16,respectively, and a glue panel 18, all of which are hingedlyinterconnected along parallel, vertical score lines 19 to form a tubularstructure open at the top and bottom.

The bottom of a carton may be provided with various types of closurearrangements but preferably with an automatic bottom closure, includingbottom closure flaps 20, 22, 24, and 26, which are hingedly connected tofront and rear side walls and first and second end walls l0, 12, 14, and16, respectively, along horizontal score lines 27. The specificstructure of the bottom closure arrangement is more particularlydescribed in a copending application, Ser. No. 522,020, filed the samedate as this application by the same inventors.

The upper portion of each of the end walls may be provided with gussetsections indicated generally at 30, which are each defined by atransverse score line 32 and a pair of vertical score lines 34 whichflair outwardly at their lower ends where they join with the ends ofhorizontal score line 32 at the point where the latter meets relatedvertical score lines 19. The horizontal and vertical score lines form apair of side portions or gusset panels 36 and a center portion or gussetpanel 38 which permit the gusset section 30 to be depressed when thecarton is erected and closed, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, to reducethe cross-sectional area at the upper end of the carton. If desired,center portions 38 may be provided with upwardly extending tabs 39 whichassist in forming and closing the top portion of a carton as they arefolded inwardly under the top closure panels.-

Still referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen that front side panel 10 isprovided below its upper extremity with an opening 40 defined by agenerally U-shaped cut 42 which forms a tab 43 that may be folded out ofthe way as opening 40 is used as a finger-gripping hole.

Rear side wall 12 is also formed with an opening 44 defined by aU-shaped cut 46 which also provides a tab 47 which may be folded intothe carton in a manner hereinafter described.

The primary feature of novelty in this invention resides in the topclosure arrangement which includes a pair of inner and outer top closureflaps indicated generally at 50 and 60. The top closure inner flap 50includes a first section 52 hingedly attached at its lower edge to theupper edge of rear side wall 12 along score line 53 and a second section54 hingedly attached to the first section along score line 55.

Top closure outer flap includes a primary section 62 which is hingedlyattached to the upper edge of front side wall 12 along score line 63.Primary section 62 has projecting upwardly therefrom a lock tab 64 whichincludes a center portion 66 hingedly attached to the primary section 62along a score line 67 and a pair of side portions 68 which are hingedlyattached to center portion 66 along diverging score lines 69.

When the carton is manufactured, the sides walls, end walls and gluepanel are folded into position and glued to form a tubular structure,and also the bottom closure panels are folded and glued into position,so that when the ultimate user of the package receives the carton, it isin a collapsed condition with the top of the carton still open. In orderto close the carton, the end wall extension tabs 39 are folded inwardlyat right angles to the end walls, and the inner closure flap 50 isfolded over the top of the carton at right angles with the section 54being tucked into the top of the carton behind the front side wall 10 inface-to-face relation therewith. The outer closure flap 60 is thenfolded over the inner closure flap in face-to-face relation therewith,

3 and the lock tab is inserted into opening 44 at the rear side wall ofthe carton. At the same time, tab 47 is folded inwardly so that itbecomes interposed between the top closure inner flap and the lockingtab.

The package has been designed for use primarily as a retail package toreplace the conventional shopping bag in a department store, and it iscontemplated that the closure of the top will normally be effected by aperson at the check-out counter, who after closing the carton in themanner described, will insert a stapler into opening 44 and staple aproof of purchase document, such as a sales slip, to the top of a cartonin the manner shown in FIG. 2. The staple would actually go through thesales slip, the primary section 62 of the outer closure flap, the firstsection 52 of the inner closure flap, tab 47 of the rear side wall, andthe locking tab 64. 'Thus, the top of the carton would be rigidlysecured in a closed position and be relatively tamper proof, or at leasttamper resistant, to minimize the chance for a customer to open thecarton and insert other articles of merchandise into the carton after asale was completed. Openings 40 in the front wall and 44 in the rearwall serve to receive the fingers and thumb, respectively, of the cartonholder so as to form a conventional handle arrangement. It should benoted that one of the openings, preferably opening 44, is disposed atthe extreme upper edge of the side wall, so that when a staple isinserted into the opening, it is easier to staple the sales slip and allof the other portions of the carton together in an efficient manner.

We claim: 7

1. In a collapsible, retail package formed from a unitary blank offoldable paperboard, the combination of:

a. opposed pairs of front and rear side walls and end walls hingedlyinterconnected to form a tubular structure open at the top and bottom;

b. at least one bottom closure flap hingedly attached to the lower edgeof one of said walls and secured in position to close the bottom of thetubular structure;

c. top closure means for closing the top of the tubular structure afterit has been filled, including:

i. a horizontal inner closure flap hinged to an upper edge of one ofsaid side walls and adapted to be folded over the top of said tubularstructure;

ii. a horizontal outer closure flap hinged to an upper edge of the otherof said side walls and adapted to be folded over said inner closure flapin face to face engagement therewith and including a locking tabextending therefrom;

d. said side walls presenting finger receiving openings adjacent theupper edges thereof;

e. said one side wall opening being aligned with said locking tab forreceipt thereof;

f. at least one of said openings being located immediately below theupper edge of its respective side wall for receiving a portion of astapling device to permit a proof of purchase document to be stapled tothe overlapped outer and inner closure flaps and said locking tab andthereby render the package tamper resistant.

2. A package according to claim 1, wherein said end walls include gussetsections which may be deflected inwardly to reduce the cross-sectionalarea of the upper portion of the package and thereby facilitate graspingof the package.

3. A package according to claim 1, wherein the opening in the rear sidewall is located immediately adjacent and below the upper edge of saidrear side wall.

4. A package according to claim 1, wherein the opening in the front sidewall is spaced a relatively short distance below the upper edge of saidfront side wall.

5. A package according to claim 1, wherein said inner top closure flapincludes a first section hingedly attached to the upper edge of said oneside wall and a second section hingedly .attached to said first sectionand adapted to be tucked into the tubular structure behind said otherside wall.

6. In a collapsible, retail package formed from a unitary blank offoldable paperboard, the combination of:

a. opposed pairs of front and rear side walls and end walls hingedlyinterconnected to form a tubular structure open at the top and bottom;

b. at least one bottom closure flap hingedly attached to the lower edgeof certain of said walls and secured in position to close the bottom ofthe tubular structure;

0. top closure means for closing the top of the tubular structure afterit has been filled, including:

i. a horizontal inner closure flap hinged to an upper edge of one ofsaid rear side walls and adapted to be folded over the top of saidtubular structure;

ii. a horizontal outer closure flap hinged to an upper edge of the otherof said front side wall and adapted to be folded oversaid inner closureflap in face to face engagement therewith;

d. at least one of said side walls presenting therein an opening locatedimmediately below the upper edge thereof for receiving a portion of astapling device to permit a proof of purchase document to be stapled tothe overlapped outer and inner closure flaps and thereby render thepackage tamper resistant.

1. In a collapsible, retail package formed from a unitary blank offoldable paperboard, the combination of: a. opposed pairs of front andrear side walls and end walls hingedly interconnected to form a tubularstructure open at the top and bottom; b. at least one bottom closureflap hingedly attached to the lower edge of one of said walls andsecured in position to close the bottom of the tubular structure; c. topclosure means for closing the top of the tubular structure after it hasbeen filled, including: i. a horizontal inner closure flap hinged to anupper edge of one of said side walls and adapted to be folded over thetop of said tubular structure; ii. a horizontal outer closure flaphinged to an upper edge of the other of said side walls and adapted tobe folded over said inner closure flap in face to face engagementtherewith and including a locking tab extending therefrom; d. said sidewalls presenting finger receiving openings adjacent the upper edgesthereof; e. said one side wall opening being aligned with said lockingtab for receipt thereof; f. at least one of said openings being locatedimmediately below the upper edge of its respective side wall forreceiving a portion of a stapling device to permit a proof of purchasedocument to be stapled to the overlapped outer and inner closure flapsand said locking tab and thereby render the package tamper resistant. 2.A package according to claim 1, wherein said end walls include gussetsections which may be deflected inwardly to reduce the cross-sectionalarea of the upper portion of the package and thereby facilitate graspingof the package.
 3. A package according to claim 1, wherein the openingin the rear side wall is located immediately adjacent and below theupper edge of said rear side wall.
 4. A package according to claim 1,wherein the opening in the front side wall is spaced a relatively shortdistance below the upper edge of said front side wall.
 5. A packageaccording to claim 1, wherein said inner top closure flap includes afirst section hingedly attached to the upper edge of said one side walland a second section hingedly attached to said first section and adaptedto be tucked into the tubular structure behind said other side wall. 6.In a collapsible, retail package formed from a unitary blank of foldablepaperboard, the combination of: a. opposed pairs of front and rear sidewalls and end walls hingedly interconnected to form a tubular structureopen at the top and bottom; b. at least one bottom closure flap hingedlyattached to the lower edge of certain of said walls and secured inposition to close the bottom of the tubular structure; c. top closuremeans for closing the top of the tubular structure afTer it has beenfilled, including: i. a horizontal inner closure flap hinged to an upperedge of one of said rear side walls and adapted to be folded over thetop of said tubular structure; ii. a horizontal outer closure flaphinged to an upper edge of the other of said front side wall and adaptedto be folded over said inner closure flap in face to face engagementtherewith; d. at least one of said side walls presenting therein anopening located immediately below the upper edge thereof for receiving aportion of a stapling device to permit a proof of purchase document tobe stapled to the overlapped outer and inner closure flaps and therebyrender the package tamper resistant.